Page:The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (emended first edition), Volume 2.djvu/50

40 silence, sinking his head on his hand, and never lifting his glass to his lips;—but this was nothing new; so we let him alone, and went on with our jollification, till, suddenly raising his head, he interrupted us in the middle of a roar of laughter, by exclaiming,—

"Gentlemen, where is all this to end?—Will you just tell me that now?—Where is it all to end?"

"'In hell fire,' growled Grimsby.

"'You've hit it—I thought so!' cried he. 'Well then, I'll tell you what'—he rose.

"'A speech, a speech!' shouted we. 'Hear, hear! Lowborough's going to give us a speech!'

"He waited calmly till the thunders of applause and gingling of glasses had ceased, and then proceeded,—

"'It's only this, gentlemen,—that I think we'd better go no farther. We'd better stop while we can.'

"'Just so!' cried Hattersley—